


Disclosure

by seekergeek



Series: Companion 'verse [21]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, M/M, Pre-Slash, Valdemar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-17
Updated: 2012-02-17
Packaged: 2017-10-31 08:39:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/342096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekergeek/pseuds/seekergeek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She means that she needs to talk with you about something sensitive, and she doesn't want others to hear about it, Cadman said.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Disclosure

Rodney had just finished attempting to beat mathematics into the thick heads of the kids in his last class of the day and was straightening up papers when he heard a throat being cleared in the doorway. His eyes snapped upward and a ready remark about not allowing extra credit because of piss-poor performance was on his lips when he realized that it was Teyla standing in the doorway and not a student. "Oh, um, Queen's Own! Uh, what can I do for you today?"

"Come walk with me," she replied, looking at him significantly.

A surge of nervousness shot through Rodney. Walk with her? Why? And why the look? Gods, this was why he hadn't wanted to become a Herald. He was _crap_ at reading people

 _She means that she needs to talk with you about something sensitive, and she doesn't want others to hear about it_ , Cadman said. _If you’re not speaking mind-to-mind, the best way to do that is to keep moving_ _That's why the walk._

Oh. _That makes actually makes sense_ , Rodney thought back at Cadman. _Thanks. For telling me, I mean._

 _Just trying to help my partner out_ , Cadman replied, oddly serious.

Flustered by that, Rodney quickly turned his attention back to Teyla. "Uh, let me finish collecting stuff up and I'll be right with you."

Teyla nodded her acquiescence, and Rodney made quick work of gathering everything together and dumping it into the leather case he carried his papers in. Noticing that she had on a coat, he grabbed his and put it on, as well as a hat to keep his head warm. Picking up his case and throwing the strap over his shoulder, he followed after her.

She was silent for a while as she led Rodney out of the building and into the now-dormant gardens. He expected her to slow down and stroll around there, but she kept going and soon they were headed to Companion's Field. It was only as they approached it that she finally spoke. "What do you know of John?"

Thrown by the question, Rodney stammered for a moment before replying, "Well, I know that he's the Equitation teacher. And that he's only been a Herald for a few years. He's a good chess player. And he seems to like music, but he never plays the gittern he has in his room. The thing has dust all over it."

"Anything else?" Teyla asked.

Rodney wracked his brains. "Uh, his family raises horses, I think. And I get the impression that maybe he doesn't get along with them? And uh, and uh," he paused, unsure about continuing.

Teyla lifted an eyebrow. "Yes? Whatever you say will be kept in confidence. John is a friend of mine, and I wish to protect him as well."

That made Rodney feel better about going on. "I…I know that he was Chosen the same night the King and a friend of his died, and he was there when it… happened. And what…what the King ordered him to do. He has nightmares. He hates going to Court but he won't say why. And since he started having to do Court duty he's been having more nightmares. He, uh, he doesn't like to talk about himself much. He holds a lot of stuff in, I think." Tapped out of information he knew about John at this point, he shrugged. "And that's it. I haven't known him long. Sorry."

She graced him with an odd, knowing smile. "Believe it or not, you know more of him than most. You are correct; he does not speak of himself to others. He must regard you a true friend to have divulged as much as he has in so short a time."

Rodney blinked. "Really?"

She nodded as she guided him so that they now walked alongside the fence. "Truly. But you do not know everything, I am afraid."

"Oh?"

She looked at him very seriously. "Yes. And you must promise to keep in confidence what I say to you now, for John's sake."

Rodney's stomach knotted up. "Um, okay, yeah. I promise." He wasn't sure he wanted to know, really, but he didn't think that Teyla was going to give him the choice of remaining in blissful ignorance.

"First, I must tell you of his family," Teyla began, looking away from him to scan the area ahead of them, "His father is one of the nobility, a duke. His mother was sister to King Ernest, the Queen's father. This makes him cousin to Elizabeth, and when he was Chosen by Atlantis, it put him in line to the throne as the Heir Presumptive."

Heir Presumptive? Good Havens, John was royalty? Rodney swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. "He doesn't look like royalty," he blurted out, then blushed. Embarrassed, he then muttered, "That asshole. He told me his family raised horses."

Teyla laid a hand on his arm, her mouth upturned and her eyes twinkling with amusement. "Do not be angry with him, please. He did not lie to you. His family is indeed famous for breeding horses as well as being noble. And I suspect that the horse barn is where he spent a large portion of his time growing up."

"Fine, he only failed to tell me that he was next in line for the throne, then!" Rodney exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "How does someone forget to tell a friend that he's the _Heir,_ for Haven's sake?"

"I suspect the answer to your question would be because he does not _wish_ to be the Heir," Teyla replied seriously. "And perhaps someday he will not be, Ancestors willing. But until such time as Elizabeth produces a child who will become Heir Apparent, he is trapped in the role to which he was born and Chosen."

The way Teyla put it, she seemed pretty sure that John would rather gnaw his arm off than become King. Seeing how much John hated Court duty, Rodney was willing to agree with her. He startled as an unfamiliar mind touched his own, and saw Teyla nodding at him. _Teyla?_ he asked, letting his shields open to her.

Her thoughts came to him slowly, flavored with smoke and honey. _Yes, it is I._ _Mindspeech is not easy for me, so please be tolerant. What I have to tell you next is best not said aloud._

 _Okay,_ Rodney replied nervously and resolved to be patient with the slowness of her thoughts.

 _There are nobles who do not want John on the throne, and we have evidence that some of them are willing to kill him in order to ensure it, although we do not know who specifically._ Teyla instructed him haltingly as they continued to walk. _With him gone, they feel that they can then saddle the Queen with a consort of their choosing, so that they may have leverage to control the Queen and subsequent heirs._

Rodney gulped, a chill that had nothing to do with the outside air settling over him.

 _And there are others, traitors or perhaps operatives from elsewhere, who would have both the Queen and John dead so that they can take the throne for themselves,_ she continued. _Both groups have been spreading lies about John and fomenting unrest to keep us off balance and divided in the Queen's Council,_ she continued. _And their efforts have recently increased to a very worrying degree. We Heralds have been trying to discover who these people are and flush them out of their hiding places, but they cover their tracks too well and we have been unsuccessful to date._

Rodney stopped walking, so shaken by this information that he felt his knees were going to give way. There were groups, plural, of people who wanted John dead. _Teyla, why are you telling me this? What can_ I _do? My grades in politics are nothing short of completely mediocre, and Weaponsmaster Ronon is still rolling his eyes at me at every practice!_

Her grip on his arm tightened a bit. _This discussion is not about politics, as such. As I said before, there are certain things about John that you were unaware of that you must now know._

 _But why?_ He whined.

 _Because you are his friend_ , Teyla replied.

There was an odd connotation behind 'friend' that had Rodney blinking in puzzlement for a moment, but he shook off the non-sequitur thought. _So?_

 _You have a great many Gifts,_ _Rodney_ , she answered, her eyes boring into him with the intensity of her stare _. And a great deal of power behind them._

The penny dropped and he got it. _You want me to protect him if something happens_ , he stated. _Using my Gifts._

She nodded. _Yes. Your Gifts are your strength as a Herald._

Rodney snorted and crossed his arms _. Well, that's good, because my skills with people and weaponry certainly aren't._

 _John is very skilled in weapons and can defend himself_ , Teyla replied, her thoughts coming more slowly, as if she were having trouble focusing. _And both of you may leave the people skills in my hands. But even the best swordsman may be taken down, either by being overwhelmed or from afar. That he cannot defend against. But with your Gifts, you may be able to._ She winced and held a hand up to her temple.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Rodney asked out loud.

Teyla smiled at him, her forehead furrowed in pain. "It is nothing to worry about. I have merely Mindspoken too much and have given myself a headache."

Rodney grasped her by the elbow, determined to be ready to catch her if she toppled over. "I'll call Carson."

"There is no need," Teyla protested, halting him with a gesture. "I stopped as soon as I passed my limits, so I have not overextended myself as badly as you have had the misfortune to do in the past. I have headache powder in my quarters and will take some as soon as we finish speaking."

Rodney reluctantly released her elbow. "Are you sure? Because Carson will kill me if you die because I didn't take you to see him."

She patted his arm gently. "Truly, Rodney, I will be fine. This has happened to me before; I know how to deal with it." Teyla then pulled on his arm to get him walking alongside her again, this time going back the way they came.

Rodney fell into step with her, folding her arm into his formally as Dame Heightmeyer had taught. "Is there anything else you needed to tell me about John before we head back? That you can talk about, I mean?"

Teyla shook her head slowly. "No, I believe I have disclosed everything to you."

They walked in silence for a bit, Rodney churning their conversation over in his head. Finally he blurted out, "What I don't understand is, why me? Is it because of the Gifts, or because I'm his next-door neighbor, or because I take a class from him, or what? Why not make an experienced Herald his bodyguard?"

"All of those reasons factor in," Teyla replied. "But the main reason is because he trusts you. And because he trusts you, the two of you spend a great deal of time together. You are with him the most, and because of that you are in the best position to protect him. Elizabeth and I have tried to assign him experienced bodyguards before and it has never gone well."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised? Let me guess, he found them too intrusive and started finding ways to hide from them, right?"

The corner of Teyla's mouth quirked up. "That is correct." She then stopped walking and laid a hand on his cheek. "You will not be doing this alone, Rodney. There are others of us who keep an eye on him and try to stay close by in case of trouble. But I will not lie. If they get past us, you will be our last line of defense."

Rodney swallowed hard. He had agreed to do things like this when he'd said yes to the Queen. He hadn't thought that he'd be doing it before he'd even been shoved into the silly white uniform, though. But he couldn't say no. Not when it was John that needed him.

 _You won't be alone as that last line of defense_ , Cadman interjected into his frightened thoughts, her tone serious. _We're partners. I will always be there to help. You're not alone in this. We will_ both _take the fuckers down, promise._

Cadman's promise eased the band that had been tightening around Rodney's chest, and he felt like he could breathe again. He wasn't alone. Cadman would be there for him, and after training with her for a while, he had an inkling of just how formidable she might be in a fight. And his Gifts _were_ strong. He might not ever become good at fighting with knives and swords, but he was certainly more than capable of using his admittedly fabulous mind as a weapon.

He tilted his chin up. "I'll need training with the Firestarting Gift right away then. I want my arsenal to be as full as possible."

Teyla squeezed his arm, her expression grateful despite the pain she was still obviously in. "I anticipated that you would want to accelerate your training once I spoke with you. Go speak with Vala. She does not have the Gift herself, but she has the theory of it down very firmly. She will be expecting you."

Rodney nodded once and resumed escorting her back to the Collegium grounds. He could do this. He would do this. Because it was John's life on the line, and the thought of losing him was simply unacceptable.


End file.
